In the land of Obiofuru, there was a very powerful deity called Ngele.This deity was feared by most of the villagers because it gave out instant and fearsome punishments to people who trespassed against it.

One family was responsible for providing a priest to serve the deity and this priest had the title of Dibia ngele.

Mazi Kamma was the head of that family and therefore,the Dibia ngele.

Mazi Kamma had four wives and six children.

His first born son was a teacher at the community school. 'Teacher John' as he was called, was married and he had a baby boy making Maazi Kamma a grandfather.

Just as Ngele was feared, Maazi Kamma was also feared in his family and in the village. One time, when it was reported to him that his fourth child, Anyara had refused to greet an elder,he fed him with ofe mpoto and left him standing under a tree shade all day.

The excuse Anyara gave his father was that nshi was worrying him and that was why he could not greet the elder. So his father decided to show him how powerful nshi was so that he would never use nshi as an excuse again.

Anyara learnt his lesson that day after soiling his pants with nshi and he made sure to greet any elder he saw from that day onwards.

Teacher John had finished schooling at Obiofuru Community School and was asked to stay back to become a teacher.

His immediate junior brother,Cherechi, was not that intelligent and had to repeat Form Six twice so that their sister, Nyemnkem had come to meet up with him.

It happened one day, that two naughty students were sent out of the class by the mathematics teacher, Teacher Akanjo.

 He was given that name because he could flog very well and no student wanted to be at the receiving end of his cane. Awo and Mbara, the two naughty students decided to exit the school premises entirely and look for something to eat.

 As they were walking on the road, they found out that some palm kernels had fallen and were scattered at a certain area. The boys were happy to see a source of food and they sprinted into the farm to pack the kernels up. The kernels were so much that Mbara had to remove his singlet to pack them inside after they had already stuffed their pockets. 

They couldn't go home because they knew their parents would question them so they went back to school and began sharing the excess kernels to their schoolmates. 

Teacher John found out that most students were suspiciously trooping into a certain class and he went to investigate. 

Seeing that it was Awo and Mbara who were causing the disturbance, he punished everyone who was in the class at that moment including Anyara. He also seized the palm kernels and told the class captain to drop it in the staffroom. 

Meanwhile Mazi Kamma had just stepped out to his farm to harvest what he could, only to find that someone had come into the farm and cleared everything away. 

Now there were no more kernels to pack. 

Mazi Kamma was furious but saying nothing he kicked dust on the farm and went home. 

That night everybody knew that Mazi Kamma was angry but no one tried to ask him why- not even his wives or his first son. He was scary like that. 

The next day at Obiofuru Community School, the students and pupils were at assembly singing the national anthem. 

Suddenly the shrill sound of the ancestral staff reverberated throughout the compound and the children scampered away for fear of the incoming figure. 

Some teachers also went to look for safety. 

Only the headmistress, Teacher John and three others remained at their spot. It would have been very laughable if Teacher John had run away because the incoming figure dressed in red and black and adorned with nzu was none other than his father. 

But it was not Mazi Kamma who was there. It was Dibia ngele. 

"The rat came into the snake's house uninvited. It wore the snake's clothes. It slept on the snake's bed. It finished the soup in the snake's pot and did not care to wash it. What will happen to the rat when the snake comes back?

 You have desecrated the property of the great Ngele! In three days time,what will happen to the rat will happen to you."

Saying this, Dibia ngele struck the ancestral stick on the ground twice and walked away.

It took a while for Teacher John to decode the message ,after all, he was as intelligent as his father. He told the headmistress about his thoughts and the headmistress called for an emergency teachers meeting.

In this meeting, they called Awo and Mbara and questioned them about the source of the palm kernels that they shared in school the other day. 

It took some time for them to answer truthfully and after Awo described the place, Teacher John was sure that they had gone to the part of the farm kept for Ngele.

They were still discussing on how to beg Dibia ngele  on behalf of the children when the Home-Economics teacher, Aunty Sandra revealed that she had eaten some kernels after it was seized in the office.

Two other teachers indicated that they had eaten too. Teacher John placed his hand on his head in exasperation. 

Ngele was not a deity that forgave easily. Seeing the predicament of the children in the school, the headmistress decided to inform the elders about the development. 

At the moment, it was impossible to know exactly how many children had eaten palm kernel from the bunch that Awo and Mbara brought.

 The Elders promised  to intercede on their behalf.

 They went to Mazi Kamma's  house the next day with two goats and other minor things for sacrifice. Maazi did not collect anything and told them to go back, that they cannot change the mind of a god.

An elder argued that all gods can be appeased rather it is the humans who hold grudges.

Mazi asked him if his child was among those that ate from the pot of Ngele. The elder replied that all the children in Obiofuru are his children and that is why he and other elders have come to try and appease Ngele.

 Mazi Kamma told them to go home that they had only one full day to prepare their minds for Ngele's punishment. 

The elders went away sadly and informed the headmistress of the situation. The whole village was in dread of what would happen to Awo and Mbara and to others who had eaten from Ngele's farm. 

The night before the day of punishment, Teacher John went to see his father so that he could beg him as a son and plead with him to reverse Ngele's curse.

His father told him that Ngele cannot change its mind. So far, the people had feared and revered Ngele because it was a swift dispenser of justice. John begged that this time, the culprits were children and should be spared. Mazi Kamma was still adamant.

"What if it was me, your child who had to be punished because of a silly mistake?" asked John.

 Mazi Kamma told his son that it would not change anything. If Ngele decided to go back on its word, it would be seen as a weak deity and the community would no longer revere it.

Defeated, John left his father and like others, went to bed with dread. 

The next morning was strangely silent in Obiofuru until one child began to wail. 

Apparently, the stomach of a child was hurting. Not just hurting but it was swelling every hour. The wail of one child was followed by a second wail and others joined in. 

It was such a painful way to go.

The family of Maazi were eating the morning food in silence while Mazi was using his chewing stick and reclining on his old chair. 

Suddenly, Anyara began to wail. His hands dropped the yam he was eating and went straight to his tummy.

Anyara's mother rushed straight to him and asked him what it was. He was in so much pain that he couldn't answer. 

Mazi came over to check his son and asked them to shift. He touched his son's head and felt his stomach. His hardened countenance fell.

"Anyara, did you eat the palmkernels from Ngele's farm?"

Anyara mumbled  some incoherent words and his mother and her co-wives started crying.

Mazi didn't need to hear any answer. He knew that Anyara had eaten of it. He quietly stood up and left the frontage.

Two hours later, Obiofuru community was quiet again. Not out of dread or sorrow this time but out of relief. 

The bellies of the children and adults had stopped swelling. Nobody had died and everybody was okay. This occurrence caused some mild consequences for Mazi Kamma because he was right. 

If Ngele decided to go back on its word, it would be seen as a weak deity and the community would no longer revere it. 

Ngele had averted its curse at the last hour and the villagers had lost the original fear they had for it. 

When Mazi Kamma saw his son, Anyara, writhing in pain, he had to make a choice between upholding the reputation of the god he served and saving the life of the son he loved. 

He chose the latter and thus ends the story of palm kernel and the gods.